


How to Date Your Best Friend

by kenzz_95



Series: Trektober 2020 [23]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, First Dates, M/M, just a bit of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:02:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27150820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kenzz_95/pseuds/kenzz_95
Summary: Leonard and Jim are dating now, but Jim wants to take it slow because he'd given up hoping that this could ever happen. Leonard is fine with that, he'll take it as slow as Jim needs, but Jim is failing a bit at slow, actually.
Relationships: James T. Kirk/Leonard "Bones" McCoy
Series: Trektober 2020 [23]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948633
Comments: 6
Kudos: 45
Collections: Trektober 2020





	How to Date Your Best Friend

**Author's Note:**

> Trektober Day 23: 21st Century AU
> 
> This is a sequel and probably works best when read as a sequel, but isn't totally incomprehensible on its own.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Leonard was weirdly nervous, a strange mixture of nerves and excitement floated around his belly and he felt not unlike he had when he was in middle school and about to ask some girl he liked to a dance. Jim was coming over that evening for their first date, and he’d been distracted by it ever since they’d made the plans the previous weekend. This was what he’d wanted for the several months since they’d reunited, probably even longer on a more subconscious level. And, really, there was no reason to be nervous. It was just Jim. Jim, who he’d fallen quickly back into an easy friendship with, like it had never been ten years. Jim, who he’d never felt more like himself around, and with whom the conversation flowed so easily it was hard to get them to shut up when they were together. Jim, who he was probably at least a little bit in love with, who apparently had carried a torch for him for  _ years _ . Jim, who’s heart he’d inadvertently and completely unknowingly broken, who wanted to take it slow because he’d given up hope that Leonard would ever feel the same way he did. So, yeah, Leonard was a bit nervous because he wanted it to go well, he wanted Jim to be happy and comfortable, but he wasn’t quite sure where Jim’s line was. He figured he’d let the other man lead on that because as for himself he was already all in. Fucking in his bedroom, holding hands on a moonlit beach, whether physical or emotional he was ready, but Jim would be setting the pace here. Which was made a bit more difficult because Leonard had asked Jim to come over to his apartment for their date, which meant he had to plan something, something that was serious enough to convey the depth of his feelings without making Jim feel like he was being rushed on his own.

When he’d been dating Jocelyn, he was in medical school, he barely had a dollar to his name and certainly no time. She’d planned a lot of their dates, actually. So Leonard not only was out of practice with this sort of thing, he maybe never was actually in practice. He’d told Jim he’d cook for him, but after talking with some coworkers he decided it may actually be better if they cook  _ together _ . That way, the process was an activity, not just the eating, and they’d be able to do something together. So Leonard found some recipes that were good, but not too fancy or complicated, did some shopping, and then cleaned his apartment like he’d never cleaned it before. Then he decided it looked too clean and messed it up just a little bit. God, Christine at work was going to laugh her ass off at this, but Leonard was quite far gone and more than anything he wanted Jim to take his hand and trust him. And for that, Jim had to be comfortable, he couldn’t get overwhelmed and pull a runner. So when it came time for their date, Leonard ended up in jeans and a casual button down, nothing too fancy but enough to make it clear he had tried, but not tried too hard.

“Christ, McCoy, pull yourself together,” he muttered to himself as he made sure the recipes were pulled up on his laptop, all ready to go. “It’s just Jim.”

It was always easy with Jim. That was part of why Leonard liked - loved? - him so much. Because in a world full of people who drained his energy to be around, Jim filled him right back up again, and it was never work to be with the other man, their friendship was easy as breathing. And Jim had kissed him, Jim was interested too, so Leonard forced himself to take a deep breath and shake off all the nerves. And just in time, too, because there was a knock on his door and Leonard opened it to find a smiling Jim Kirk at his door, holding a bag of something or other.

“Bones!” Jim greeted him, pulled him in for a quick hug, then stepped back. Jim was relaxed. It made Leonard relaxed too. Nothing to be worried about, they were so easy together and Jim’s demeanor as he stepped into Leonard’s apartment just reinforced that.

“Should I be concerned that I neither see nor smell food?” Jim asked, looking around.

“I figured we could make something together and then after dinner...go from there? That okay with you?”

“Works for me. So, I sorta bought out the liquor store.”

“Oh dear,” Leonard shook his head with a smile as Jim pulled two bottles of wine out of the bag, a red and a white,

“So, I didn’t know what we were eating and really I’m usually a white guy regardless but I didn’t know if you’d gotten super into that kinda stuff now that you’re a fancy doctor…”   
Leonard rolled his eyes but Jim kept rambling,

“So I went to the liquor store and told them I was going on a date with my best friend and I wanted the best wine they had. Well, turns out I’d have to take out a loan to buy that shit, so I told them to give me the most mediocre wine they had. So I ended up with these. But I remember you were quite the bourbon guy in college, so I got this too. And then because I don’t really care about wine or bourbon I bought a six pack of beer. Anyways…” Jim trailed off, pulling the beer and bourbon from his little reusable shopping bag.

Leonard turned the bourbon bottle over in his hands and raised an eyebrow,

“This is good stuff. You really didn’t need to do this, Jim.”

“Yeah, I sorta realized that when they were ringing me up but too late to back down then, right? Admittedly I overthought this.”

The sight of all the alcohol sitting on Leonard’s counter, along with the mental picture of Jim wandering around a liquor store nervously buying way too much booze for a night where the goal wasn’t to get drunk off their asses, was enough to make him snort in amusement.

Jim crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes, “Look, I was nervous, okay, it’s not that funny.”

“I’m not making fun of you, Jim, I just...I spent all evening yesterday cleaning this place up then decided it was too clean then spent today after work messing it up a bit,” he admitted and now Jim was laughing, bright and happy and relieved.

“Okay, Bones, we’re both gonna have to start acting more like two grown men on a date and less like a couple of neurotic weirdos starting right now.”

“No more overthinking,” he agreed, “So, are you hungry? I got stuff to make pizzas. The dough is already risen. I have stuff for salad, too. The dressing is good, I think you’ll actually like it.”   


“I eat vegetables now! Sort of. Wait, I have an idea. Am I allowed to suggest an idea?”

“Obviously.”

“Just didn’t wanna step on your thing is all. What if I make something I think you’d like and you make something you think I’d like and we don’t get to see them ‘till they're done?” Jim suggested and that sounded like a good idea to Leonard to the point where he wondered why he hadn’t thought of that - probably because Jim was always the idea one of the pair. So he agreed, and they set to work cooking.

They both opened a bottle of beer to drink casually as they worked, and Leonard threw on some background music and they chatted as they stood backs to each other, both trying to figure out something the other would like. Luckily they’d been to lunch a few times since they’d reconnected so Leonard had something to go on with regards to how 32 year old Jim’s palette differed from college Jim’s. The conversation flowed easily, like it always did, and it was fun. Jim tousled Leonard’s hair with flour, Leonard attempted to see how long a piece of pepperoni would stick to the back of Jim’s neck, it was good.

While the pizza was cooking, Jim made the salad and Leonard worked on the apple crumble they’d be having for dessert and sometimes their hips would bump in the small kitchen, and it was just nice. Leonard found himself wanting this to never end. Just he and Jim, side by side, talking and laughing and touching just a little more than they had in ten years. It felt right. Like the way it should be. Like there’d been a balance missing from his life for 10 years, and he’d finally found it again in the blue eyed blond standing next to him who kept trying to steal the crumble topping he’d made when he wasn’t looking.

They had a bit of an alcohol sampler with dinner, neither one wanting to actually get drunk so they just had little tastes of everything Jim had bought. Dinner and dessert stretched on, both of them sitting at Leonard’s table talking long after they actually finished eating. They had actually nailed making pizzas for each other, and Jim had looked a bit bowled over when he realized that Leonard had put garlic on his because of course he remembered that little detail from college. Jim put garlic on everything.

Jim insisted on helping with dishes, claiming with a laugh that he’d been taught manners by his grumpy southern roommate and, well, Leonard really couldn’t argue with that one. Leonard extended the offer to have Jim stay to watch a movie or something and Jim declined, but not before kissing him against the counter for a couple minutes, a little less sweet and a little more spark than their previous kiss on the trail. All told, Leonard was about 90% sure it had gone well, but it was tough to be certain with Jim Kirk.

It started raining about halfway through Jim and Leonard’s hike the following Sunday, making Leonard mildly miserable. Mildly because Jim was in a good mood which made it difficult for him to be in a bad one, even though they had yet to discuss a second date and were both soaked to the bones. That and, well, Jim’s t-shirt was clinging to every slope and plane of his chest and Leonard was in no way going to deny appreciating the sight.

“So,” Jim started as they walked back to their cars. He pushed rain soaked hair out of his face and he had a little drop of water hanging on his lip. Leonard wanted to kiss him so badly in that moment. Maybe he would, later. “What are your thoughts on carnivals?

“I absolutely refuse to get on a ride assembled by someone high on methamphetamines,” Leonard replied.

“Please, Bones, that’s just a stereotype. And you said that in college.”   


“I was right in college. And stereotypes come from somewhere, right?”

“Fine. You still don’t fly, do you?”

“Not when I can avoid it, no.”

“Thoughts on ghosts?”

“Bunch of bullshit, right there. What’s with the Spanish Inquisition, anyways?”

“Just trying to think of ideas for our next date. I want to show you some local color,” Jim explained and Leonard was pretty sure he was grinning like an idiot, despite the rain. He couldn’t be bothered to stop. Jim could see his emotions, he didn’t care.

“Well in that case, I’d love to see whatever you’d like to show me. So long as I can keep my feet on solid ground.”

“And no rides assembled by traveling randoms?”

“That goes with the feet on solid ground bit.”

“Right,” Jim nodded with a grin, “But other than that…”   


“I trust you, Jim. Whatever you want, I’m sure it’ll be great. But no sushi.” Leonard’s no sushi policy and his enteric disease unit in medical school had a strong correlation. And he’d just seen a weird ass parasite...uh, literally…come into the ED that very week. No thank you.

“Why no sushi? Sushi is great.”

“You can eat whatever you want but I ain’t pullin’ the worm outta your ass so don’t come crying to me with your weird parasites.”

Jim shuddered dramatically, “Fine. No sushi. I’m pretty sure you just turned me off that for a while too. But other than that, uh, next Friday night work for you?”

“Next Friday night is great for me,” Leonard nodded. They were at their cars now, but still standing in the rain as it pattered around them. Finally, he reached out and tumbed the drop of water off Jim’s lips, Jim’s blue eyes lidded and intent as he did so. Jim then placed his hands on the roof of Leonard’s car, caging him in as he breathed,

“Are you as weirdly turned on as I am right now?”

“What, talking about ass parasites really gets you going?” Leonard asked and Jim laughed but just...stood there. It took him a moment to realize that Jim was waiting for him to make the first move. The previous two times they’d kissed, Jim had been the one to initiate it. He wondered if there was some little insecure part of Jim’s brain that refused to let him believe that Leonard really wanted this too. Luckily there was an easy solution to this particular problem and Leonard grabbed Jim’s face and pulled him in closer and kissed him. Their lips were already wet and so were their clothes, giving the illusion of hardly anything between their two bodies pressed together. Something sizzled between them despite the fact that kissing in the rain never was quite as hot or romantic as it sounded, just really wet.

“Fuck, Bones,” Jim murmured, pulling away and pressing their foreheads together, “Fuck. Shit. Fuck me.”

“That a request or a statement, darlin’?” Leonard asked and Jim shuddered.

“Don’t ask me how many times I thought about doing that in college. Real life is...better.”

“Any more of your college fantasies you need help fulfilling?” 

“God, and you call me a flirt,” Jim laughed then sighed, ran a hand through Leonard’s wet hair, and requested, “Just...be here. Don’t let me fall alone this time.”

“I’ve got you, Jim,” Leonard promised. He kept the “always” to himself, but, well, he certainly thought it.

It seemed, Leonard realized, that Jim Kirk was third-date-ruling him. And not just with sex, though there was that, but also with, like, emotional investment. Each time they saw each other and Leonard made it clear that he was still there, still interested in Jim, the other man got a little more relaxed and closed some of that indescribable arm’s length distance between the two of them. On their second date, Jim had shown Leonard all his favorite spots in San Francisco and they’d held hands most of the night, a fact that Jim kept having to stop himself from looking positively giddy about. They had then maybe had a few too many drinks at Jim’s favorite bar to end the night and had maybe made out on a BART train, but when Leonard had invited Jim to his place for coffee, Jim had declined. But then their  _ third _ date, things seemed a bit easier. They hadn’t even done anything that special, they’d just taken Jim’s dogs Fox and Bird to the beach and then ate on the dog-friendly patio of a local little beach bar. Jim’s yellow lab, Bird, had taken quite the liking to Leonard over the past few months and had fallen asleep on the patio with her head rested on his knee. The dog was drooling on his jeans. He allowed it.

“You’re cute,” Jim remarked, taking a pull of his beer and gazing at Leonard who was scratching a sleeping Bird behind the ears lazily. He looked up and the level of just...adoration in Jim’s eyes nearly knocked him back off his chair. And he suddenly wasn’t trying to cover it up, he was just looking at Leonard with the dictionary definition of heart eyes, probably.

“Yeah? That’s quite a compliment, comin’ from you,” Leonard hummed, catching and holding Jim’s eyes.

“You’re really serious about this, aren’t you?” Jim asked, “About, ya know, being into me and all that?”

“Serious as a heart attack, darlin’.”

“I think I kinda fucked this up, actually.”

“Fucked what up?”

“Ya know, the whole go slow, don’t let myself get too invested too fast thing. I may’ve been kidding myself to begin with. I just…” Jim shook his head and took another pull of his beer. Only his second, so Leonard knew none of his was just the alcohol talking. “I realize what happened before wasn’t your fault, Bones.”

“Doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt. Just because it wasn’t anybody’s fault doesn’t mean it wasn’t hard.”

“I know. I just don’t want you to think it was your fault that I was trying to, ya know, not fall in love with you again.”

“Oh?” Leonard said simply, for lack of anything else to say.

“It kinda is your fault I completely failed at that, though,” Jim remarked, as casual and easily as if he was discussing the weather. A spark of electricity ran through Leonard’s entire body as he kept Jim’s eye, smiling because he’d just heard the words he’d waited for months to hear.

“I love you, Jim. And I ain’t going nowhere. Not again.”

“I love you too, Bones.” Jim looked like he was going to lean across the table for a kiss, but the table they were sitting at was too long and it would’ve been an awkward reach, so he settled back in his chair again. “So, I gotta get Fox and Bird back home because they’re gonna drag the whole way back if we get much later, but do you wanna come with me? I’m on a mission to find math related movies to show my students when I’m out, and they’re all horrible, actually.”

“Wow, top billing,” Leonard snorted into his own beer, but there was never any doubt he’d actually go. Jim probably figured that.

“Just to be clear, I do actually have to watch these shitty movies. So when I say you should come over for a movie, I mean a movie  _ then _ sex, not a movie in the background during sex. Don’t wanna get your hopes up. Or down?”

“Thanks for the clarification,” Leonard laughed, trying not to let himself get too turned on from what Jim was suggesting. God, had he been waiting for this.

“So you wanna just get out of here then?” Jim offered, and he nodded eagerly, slapping a handful of bills down on the table and standing up, much to the annoyance of Bird, who’d still been lightly napping in his lap. Jim finally leaned in for that kiss once Leonard had stood up. It was fairly chaste, both of them conscious that they were in public, but it was the most confident kiss Jim had given him since this whole thing had started, and it carried with it the promise of much more where that came from before the night was up. And Leonard for one couldn’t wait to get started.

In the end, they had to do the movie second. Leonard fell asleep halfway through with his head in Jim’s lap, both of them happier than they’d been in a while.


End file.
